


Daisy Wolf

by RomeandOtherHistory



Category: Night at the Museum (Movies)
Genre: AU where Octavius (aka Emperor Augustus) falls in love with Jedediah, And Jedediah's a brunette with facial scars, And Octavius is so in love it's not even funny how much he loves this man, And he can shapeshift, And he's very shy, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Both are based off of their historical counterparts, Corruption, Corruption from pollution, Emperor Augustus - Freeform, Fluff, Forest god Jedediah, Historically accurate Octavius, Hurt/Comfort, I hope you love this AU as much as I do, Jedediah Strong Smith, Jedediah can grow daisies in his hair, M/M, Octavius is blond, Who is a forest god
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-26
Updated: 2020-09-26
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:00:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26668618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RomeandOtherHistory/pseuds/RomeandOtherHistory
Summary: When he was sixteen years old, Octavius-soon to be known as Emperor Augustus-got lost in the woods. There, he met the youthful, beautiful god of the forest, Jedediah. It took only that single meeting for Octavius to know that he was in love.
Relationships: Jedediah/Octavius (Night at the Museum), jedediah/octavius
Comments: 6
Kudos: 20





	1. Chapter 1

Octavius ran through the forest, branches grabbing at his hair and thorns stabbing into his feet. But he couldn't stop running. He had to keep going. He had barely dodged the bear when it had charged at him, and he was silently, rapidly cursing himself for letting his mind wander in the middle of the forest. Ever since he had been a young boy, Octavius had known very well that being caught unawares in the forest was the worst thing that could happen to him. Normally, bears would've left him alone, but this bear had cubs. And mother bears took every living creature as a threat to her babies. 

He'd lost his shoes in some point during the chase, but that didn't matter now. He needed to get away from the bear. The only reason why she hadn't caught him yet was because she had a harder time navigating the forest, especially as it grew thicker and more unpredictable. At this point, Octavius was quite sure that he'd never seen this part of the forest ever in his life. In fact, it didn't look like any forest that had ever been described to him. 

His foot caught on a root, and he fell over. With a hiss, Octavius clutched his foot, trying desperately to make the sharp pain he felt go away so that he could stand up and start running again. However, as he heard the low growl of the mother bear, Octavius knew that it was too late. She came crashing through the bushes, ripping them up as she tore through them. 

Just as she was about to attack Octavius, she skidded to a halt, nearly falling over from how quickly she stopped. Looking behind him, Octavius gasped and backed away from the massive, very angry wolf that had appeared behind him, preferring the bear over this new danger. If the bear was afraid, then Octavius most certainly had to be afraid. 

The wolf snarled, snapping at the bear, who turned and ran away from where she came. Octavius closed his eyes, sure that he was going to die right then and there, but nothing happened. Slowly, he opened his eyes to see the wolf staring at him curiously, leaning close and sniffing him. It was then that Octavius noticed...daisies. Hundreds of them. Growing in between the wolf's fur. 

Then, the wolf began to disintegrate into a pile of flowers, leaving a young man standing in front of Octavius, taking his breath away. He was tall, wiry and absolutely beautiful. In Octavius's mind, he looked only a year or two older than Octavius, though he possibly could've been older. Just like the wolf, there was daisies in his hair. Blue and pink. His hair was dark brown, but it shimmered in a way that almost made it look like it was blond or even gold. 

"How did you end up here?" he finally asked Octavius. "Who are you? Why are you in my forest?" 

"I...I was just looking for...for...I can't remember now, but...I got chased by that bear," Octavius stammered nervously. "And...I tripped on a root." 

The strange man raised an eyebrow. "What? Are you...scared of me?" 

He leaned down, grinning widely, showing off fangs. Octavius drew in closer to himself when a flash of silver caught his eye. 

"You have an earring?" He pointed to the man's right ear. 

"I'll take that as a no. You still haven't answered my question, though. Who are you?" 

"I'm...Octavius. Gaius Octavius," Octavius replied. 

"Gaius." The man sneered. "Great. Another son of Venus. Just what this world needs." 

"I...I don't believe I'm actually her son...I think I'm just descended from her," Octavius muttered. "Who are you?" 

The man smiled, crouching down to meet Octavius's gaze. "I'm the forest." 

"The forest," Octavius repeated thoughtfully. "So...a nymph?" 

"A nymph?" he snorted. "What a odd idea! I clearly am not a woman. Nymphs are of the forest, boy, but I AM the forest." 

"That doesn't make any more sense," Octavius admitted. "Do...do you have a name?" 

"Jedediah, god of wildlife and the forest," Jedediah announced. 

"Um...isn't that Silvanus?" Octavius asked quietly. 

Jedediah rolled his eyes. "Silvanus. He enjoys taking my glory simply because I prefer to stay humble." 

"What about Feronia?" 

"Oh! I like her. You can't expect a single god to take care of ALL wildlife, now can you?" 

"I...suppose not." Octavius grew ever-more quiet. "Thank you." 

"Hm?"

"Thank you for saving me," Octavius said a bit louder. 

"Don't take it personally. I only spared you because you weren't the one who wrecked my poor mulberry saplings." Jedediah gestured over to where the bear had come crashing through, the plants horribly damaged. "Trust me, I really do want you to leave, but it appears that you've caught me up in conversation. Now go, and be grateful that I've saved your life." 

Octavius looked down at his feet, which were both bleeding from having lost his sandals and the foot that tripped over the root shredded from the sharp bark. "I...I can't." 

For apparently the first time, Jedediah looked down at Octavius's feet, his eyes widening. "Oh, that looks bad. I forget that you mortals are rather fragile." 

"We're not fra-OW!" Octavius exclaimed as Jedediah leaned down and grabbed his foot. "Don't do that! It hurts." 

"Do you want a way out of here, or no?" Jedediah asked, and Octavius nodded. "Good. Now hush. I'm concentrating." 

Octavius was going to protest, but then he felt pure relief from his pain as Jedediah's hands grew warm and Octavius's skin began to heal rapidly. It felt a bit itchy, but it was better than having dozens of thorns in his feet and scrapped skin. 

"There you go," Jedediah announced, standing up after healing the second foot. "Now go." 

"Um...I don't know where I am..." 

Jedediah pointed to his right. "You came in that direction. Now, if you want to, you can even follow the trail of destruction that the she-bear, because, if I can sense it correctly, you were still within sight of Rome when she started to chase you. Why didn't you just run towards Rome?" 

"Do you want me to charge at a bear?" Octavius retorted. "She was in my way! I'm not stupid." 

"Hm. That's debatable. Now go, son-well, descendent-of Venus. I don't want anyone in my domain. Just consider yourself lucky and go." Jedediah turned and disappeared in the blink of an eye, clearly ended the conversation. 

Taking Jedediah's advice, Octavius followed the trail of broken plants and bear tracks back to Rome. He wondered why he'd never heard about this god, especially since there Cardea, the goddess of door hinges. Surely, if they knew about her, they'd know about this beautiful man who guarded the forest. Then again, Jedediah said that he preferred to stay humble...did he simply not enjoy the attention? 

The moment he stepped out of the forest, Octavius was wrapped in a tight hug by his mother, Atia. "Oh, my son, where have you been? Julius told me that you left to go find an arrow you overshot and that you didn't return! You've been gone since before midday!" 

"I got lost, but...I'm alright," Octavius told her. 

"Thank goodness," Atia sighed, looking down. "Where are your sandals?!" 

"They got stuck in some mud and I could not retrieve them." 

Octavius lied only because he did not want his mother to worry. Knowing Atia, she would become enraged if she knew that a bear had chased him. She'd march into the forest and drag the bear out by its ear and yell at it for daring to hurt her son. 

"Octavius, that is the fourth pair within the month! Where are these shoes going?" she asked. 

He shrugged. "They simply do not stay on my feet, I suppose." 

"Do you require some with straps? Like what the children have?" she laughed, then her face grew serious. "Octavius...you need to start becoming more responsible. You are going to have to start studying to become a general, and you know very well that even though you are Caesar's nephew and adopted son, you cannot gain that title without earning it." 

Octavius nodded. "I know, Mother, I do not mean to irresponsible. It just seems as though I've had some ill fortune in recent times. However, I am to believe that my luck is to change." 

"And why is that, my son?" Atia raised an eyebrow. 

Again, Octavius did not want to lie to his mother, but how was he supposed to explain that he saw a new god in the forest? Or, rather, not a new god, but an unknown one. 

"I saw a she-wolf," he explained. "She glowed like gold and moved with a grace and beauty that I have never seen. That is why I became lost, Mother. I was following this she-wolf. She turned and saw me, but did not harm me." 

Atia took these words into conversation before she smiled so widely that Octavius was surprised that her face did not break. "Octavius! This is fantastic news! You saw the she-wolf!" 

"I...I believe so." Octavius smiled weakly. 

"I must inform Julius!" Atia gathered her skirt and started to run off before she spun back around, hugging Octavius again before she finally ran away. 

Octavius let out a breath of relief, but anxiety and guilt still gnawed at his stomach. 

In all honesty, the reason why Octavius lied was because he did not want his mother to think that he was a failure. He didn't want her to know that he'd completely forgotten about the lost arrow and that he had simply gotten distracted by a beautiful trail of moonflowers he found instead. Or that he had been chased by a she-bear. Or that had run instead of using the dagger by his side-which he had also forgotten about-to defend himself much like any good Roman warrior would've done. Die fighting and as a hero rather than die cowering and running. 

Octavius knew that he was a failure. He was short; only by a few centimeters, but it was enough that he could easily disappear in a crowd of boys his age. He was smart, but not as quick or strong as the other boys training to become part of the Roman legion. Octavius had to work twice as hard as anyone just to be mediocre. 

What made it worse was the fact that everyone knew that he was Caesar's chosen heir. 

He was weak, small, insignificant, and the only thing that people said he had going for him was his looks. Blond hair was exotic, and Octavius had inherited that trait from Caesar, along with bright blue eyes. And Octavius hated it. He wanted to look like how his father had, with dark brown-grey hair and equally dark eyes. At least he'd been tall and strong and respected. 

Like Jedediah. 

Jedediah wasn't really respected, of course, but that was because no one knew about him. Octavius was sure that, if they did, he'd be just as respected as any other god out there. And Jedediah was tall. Very tall. Even taller than some of the gladiators, which was rare. Also, he had to be strong. Every god was. 

Then, Octavius realized that he wasn't tired. Not at all. Even though he had run so far and had to walk back for the same distance, he felt as though he could do it all over again. Nothing hurt on him, even his knee, which he had bruised badly earlier that morning. Looking down, Octavius saw that it was healed, just like his feet had been. 

This was the work of Jedediah. He had healed more than just Octavius's feet, whether or not he'd meant to. Looking, Octavius didn't even have the scar he got from when he'd stabbed himself at four years old with a sewing tool. 

It was then that Octavius decided that he was going to see Jedediah again. If Jedediah's power made him feel like this after only one meeting, what would it do to him after three or four meetings? Ten, even? Octavius had to know. 

He had to not be failure. 

He had to be respected. 

And Jedediah was going to help him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A peek into Jedediah’s life

Jedediah hates being interrupted. 

He had a schedule, a plan, a minute-by-minute timeline of how his day was gonna go. Every day, every week, every year. Jedediah like consistency. 

Or, rather, he told himself that he did. 

To outside viewers, Jedediah’s life was beautiful. He lived in a tree, spending his time helping flowers bloom and singing lullabies to the squirrels and lynx that came to visit him in his tree. Around Jedediah, there was a gentle tranquility and quiet comfort. He ate fresh fruits and drank from crystal-clear, ice cold streams. When he whistled, birds followed him, mimicking the tune. 

His life was beautiful. 

But he did it all alone. 

Jedediah hated people. That’s what he told himself. They were okay when they were a tiny group of people making huts out of fallen branches and mud, only taking what they needed. But then they got greedy. It wasn’t enough being able to live with plentiful food and clean water. 

They wanted something bigger. Something grander. Humans ripped down trees and replaced them with towers of stone. Any animal who tried to adapt to living there rather than the trees was killed and called vermin. 

Humans forgot how to love. They simply took what they wanted, not what they needed. They replaced love with pleasure, something to be bought and sold and replaced once overused. That was why Jedediah despised Venus. She didn’t do her job. She allowed humans to replace love with such a vile and repulsive thing and call it love when it was not.

She could’ve done something about the destruction of Love, but Jedediah could do nothing about the destruction of his home. 

Humans were crafty and clever. Jedediah could easily scare them away, but they still found ways to keep taking more and more from the forest. He was only one being, and there was only so much he could do. They would come into the forest in disguises of mud and leaves, the mixture throwing off Jedediah’s senses and making him believe that the human was still far away. Then, Jedediah would patrol the forest and find that a few more trees were gone. 

Other times, Jedediah had been tricked. There was a time when Jedediah actually trusted humans. Perhaps they just did not know about the god of the forest. He would speak to them, say that they could take fallen branches and whatever fruit they needed. They said that they would, and he would leave them alone. 

They always lied. 

But the real problem arose when Rome became far more than a little village.

Jedediah began to feel ill. A few thorns grew in his hair rather than flowers. He coughed up tar. The destruction of the forest was destroying Jedediah as well. 

In an act of desperation, Jedediah disobeyed Jupiter’s law and expanded his reach of power from just the forests assigned to him to the entire world. Strangely, Jupiter had not said anything, even to this day, but Jedediah really didn’t care if he did at this point. That outreach of power had saved his soul from corruption, surely something that was far more dangerous than Jedediah having immense pure, honest, good power. 

“I did the right thing, right?” Jedediah asked a sparrow who landed on his shoulder. “I feel far more alive than I ever did before, and the people across the world are very respectful of the land. I do not fear what they do. But...these people...” 

Jedediah turned to look in the direction of where he sensed Rome. “I’m afraid that they’re going to be the death of me.” 

The sparrow tittered in reply, tugging curiously at Jedediah’s hair. 

“Right, right. You’re here for food. Not for me to dump my feelings onto. Here you are.” 

Jedediah allowed the sparrow to climb onto his finger, and he placed her on a bush heavy with berries. “There you are. Your favorite.” 

Then, she turned and disappeared into the berry patch, leaving Jedediah. 

Like everyone did. 

With a sigh, Jedediah walked away, approaching the tallest and most ancient tree in the forest. The tree that had found him as a baby and had taught him how to speak with the forest. Unlike other gods, Jedediah had no family. Everyone said that he had to come from somewhere but Jedediah had quite literally come from nowhere. He was born when there was no order to the forest; the trees and the bushes and flowers could talk and walk and dance and sing. 

But they were asleep now. Forever. Had they still been awake they would never be cut down and Jedediah would not be alone. The other gods-even Diana-did not believe that the plants used to be so alive. But Jedediah knew. Well, of course he did, as a tree was practically his mother.

“Good afternoon, Mater,” Jedediah greeted the ancient tree Celeste. “I know that it has been a few days since I have come to rest, but I was quite busy. There’s far more forest for me to protect now, you know.” 

Silence. 

Jedediah sat down in front of the tree, closing his eyes. “I miss you. I miss you so much. I need your help. I...I’m so alone...” 

Again, there was silence. 

Opening his eyes again, Jedediah ran his hand across the bark of the ancient tree as he stood. “It’s okay. I know that you’re tired. I won’t let anything happen to you.” 

As he left, Jedediah raised his head, suddenly alert as he sensed a human close by. With a growl, he turned into the massive wolf, running through the forest as fast as he could without hurting any living creatures. He barreled into someone, knocking the air out of them as he pinned them down with a snarl. 

“Leave this forest and-Wait. I know you.” 

Octavius was gasping for breath, tears pricking his eyes as he tried to steady his lungs. “You...you lost a flower.”

Jedediah’s ears went back before he turned back into a man. “Do you have no fear?! I could’ve killed you in a second!” 

“I don’t doubt that.” With one more deep breath, Octavius got to his feet. 

“Why are you back in this part of the forest?!” Jedediah demanded, realizing this was the place where they’d first met. 

“I...I was looking for you,” Octavius admitted. “I...I have a favor to ask of you.” 

“A favor?!” Jedediah snorted. “Do you forget who I am?!” 

“I...I just thought...I-I really don’t know...” Octavius looked at the ground. “Sorry.” 

Jedediah studied the small young man in front of him with an odd expression. “For my own amusement, what were going to ask for?” 

“Well...when you...you healed me...I...I...” Octavius’s voice faltered and he fell quiet. 

With a huff, Jedediah sat heavily on the ground, cross-legged. “I’m not gonna kill you, mortal. That’s not my thing. Just spit it out.” 

“Never mind. It’s stupid.” Octavius tugged at the end of his toga, then brushed what mud he could off of it. “I’ll just leave.” 

“Well, obviously it’s important to you. You’ve risked life and limb coming out here. You have no idea how dangerous it is! Do you understand me?!” Jedediah snapped, suddenly feeling angry. “Coming out here is foolish! Perhaps you are a coward, but just an idiotic one!”

Octavius went stone-faced, his glare piercing Jedediah with fear. “I am neither, and don’t you dare insinuate otherwise. I may be mortal but I am not afraid to defend my dignity.”

Yep. He was Venus’s son.

Jedediah grinned. “It seems to me that those pretty blue eyes of yours are quite deceiving.”

“What do my blue eyes have to do with anything?!” Octavius narrowed said blue eyes at Jedediah. 

“Nothing.” Jedediah patted ground next to him. “Come. Sit down. I want to hear this favor.” 

Slowly, Octavius lowered himself onto the dirt, facing Jedediah. “Well, you were wrong about my cowardice and my intelligence, but...I am not really physically inclined.” 

“Uh huh.” Jedediah looked Octavius up and down, who had almost his exact figure, just on a smaller scale. “And what makes you think this?” 

“Oh, I don’t know, perhaps just the fact that EVERYONE says that I am?!” Octavius buried his face in his hands. “I don’t want to fail them, but they already believe that I’m going to.” 

“Who’s ‘them’?” Jedediah asked. 

“Rome,” Octavius replied. “I’m the heir to the throne of Caesar, but that clearly doesn’t give me special treatment. They already hate me because I’m not actually Caesar’s son; I’ve been adopted by him and he chose me as his heir and now I’m going to fail because I’m small and weak and I can’t even lift a sword properly and-“

“Wait wait wait. Stop. Right there,” Jedediah interrupted. “I don’t do violence unless it’s necessary, so I’m not the guy to ask for help from. Talk to Mars or something.” 

“No, that’s not what I want.” Octavius took a deep breath. “After you healed me, I felt strong. I felt powerful. For the first time in my life, I was able to go through all the afternoon training without having to quit. And that’s...that’s what I want. To feel like I can do what everyone else can.” 

Jedediah stared at Octavius, his own words echoing within what Octavius was saying. Jedediah had, at one point, wanted to be honored and loved by humankind just like the other gods. But he knew that could not happen as long as he was the god who kept them from the resources of the forest. 

“You don’t need their approval to be great,” Jedediah finally said. “When I told you that you were a son of Venus, I wasn’t kidding. I can feel her presence strongly in her, and, although I am not fond of her, you don’t seem bad.” 

Octavius’s lips drew into a thin line. “I keep telling you; she’s not my other. Atia is my mother.” 

Jedediah studied Octavius’s face. “You sure LOOK like Venus. Tell me, what do your parents look like? You could be a grandson.”

“Um...my mother has dark brown hair and brown eyes. And my dad has dark brown hair and brown eyes. But I get my blue eyes and blond hair from Caesar.” 

“I hate to break it to you, mortal, but that’s now how it works.” Jedediah leaned forward. “You shouldn’t have blue eyes with two brown-eyed parents.” 

“I shouldn’t?” Octavius asked. 

Jedediah shook his head. “You have some things to ask your mom and dad.” 

“Only...only my mom,” Octavius said quietly. “But I don’t think I want to.” 

“You’ll be fine,” Jedediah assured him. “Now, lets get you home. I’ll think of a better pep talk on the way.”

(A/N: Mater (Mah-der) is Latin for "mother" a promise that Jedediah did not call his mother tree Mater (May-ter))


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Octavius discusses what Jedediah told him about Venus with his Mother and Caesar

"How old are you?" Octavius asked as he and Jedediah wandered through the forest. 

Jedediah shrugged. "I'm not sure. I stopped counting after four-thousand." 

"You're four-thousand years old?!" Octavius exclaimed. 

"No, older than that. I said that I stopped counting after, not that I am four-thousand," Jedediah clarified. "I'm far older than most of the gods, only surpassed by the original gods." 

"Oh." Octavius thought for a moment. "But what about physical age?" 

"Hmm..." Jedediah thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Not sure about that either. I just...stopped aging one day. Don't know when that was. Mater would know probably." 

"Who is your mother?" 

Jedediah laughed. "You're just full of questions, aren't you? 

"I have to know things," Octavius replied. "So, who is she?" 

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Jedediah teased. "I really don't have one. I was adopted by the forest." 

"You're odd." 

"I'm odd?!" Jedediah laughed harder. "Says the strange little man who keeps wandering into my forest!" 

"I have reasons for it. And I'm not strange. Do you see me as strange?" Octavius bit his lip. 

"I think all mortals are strange," Jedediah admitted. "Your mannerisms are quite odd to outside viewers. Like why do you get hiccups? Is it on purpose? I think so, because it's rather adorable when humans have them and can't even make out a full sentences because of them." 

"No, they're not on purpose. They're annoying." 

They stopped at the edge of the forest, just out of view of Rome, and Jedediah turned to Octavius with a serious expression. "I will admit, mortal, I enjoyed our time together. But NEVER come back into the forest looking for me, alright? It's too dangerous." 

Octavius looked at the ground sadly, but nodded. "Alright." 

Jedediah smiled gently, hesitantly reaching out and patting Octavius's shoulder. "Just remember: don't push yourself. You're only mortal, and there's a lot being asked of you at such a young age. Find out what you're good at. Excel at those things. Also, put all of your effort into things that you're not good at. Then, maybe, just maybe, you'll get good at them. Goodbye, mortal." 

With those parting words, Jedediah waved good-bye and disappeared in a whirlwind of flowers. After standing for a few silent moments, Octavius left the forest. Now alone, he thought on Jedediah's words about Octavius possibly being the son of Venus. Those words weighed heavily on him. As much as that would be an honor, Octavius loved his mother-Atia-and would be devastated to find out if she was not his mother. But, he also had to know. Perhaps he would discover some sort of demigod ability that would earn the respect of others. 

Octavius was quiet as he slipped into the palace to join his family for a feast. Well, it was a feast for them practically every night. He silently sat down on the right side of the table, Caesar next to him at the head of the table and Atia to his right. They didn't say anything either, too busy eating. Octavius suddenly felt very anxious and was questioning if he even wanted to mention his worries to Atia and Caesar. Then, Caesar turned to him with a kind expression. 

"Octavius...Are you alright? You haven't even touched the fruit, and there's even oranges." 

"Hm?" Octavius's heart was pounding. "Oh, um...I...I was just lost in thought." 

"You know that I won't believe that for one second, Octavius." Caesar raised an eyebrow. "That's the same expression you have whenever you're in distress." 

Octavius took a deep breath. "Is Venus my mother?" 

Everyone stopped what they were doing to stare at them, Atia taking in a deep breath as Caesar tapped the table with his fingers. "Atia...do you care to...explain your situation?" 

"Well, um...Octavius, she is not your mother," Atia started. "She is...your father." 

Octavius stared at her. "What?" 

"The gods...they're malleable. They aren't stuck to one form or the other, and that includes their gender. They all have one that they prefer, but...Venus appeared to me in the form of a man. When I learned that he was the goddess Venus and that I was with child, I had to find someone to claim you as theirs. You were too precious to be taken away simply because you had no father to claim you. So...I met Gaius Octavius, and he was more than willing to claim fatherhood over you. It's...complicated, I know. But, yes, you are descended from Venus," Atia explained. "But...what made you realize this?" 

Octavius looked around at his other family members, who all had the same dark brown hair and eyes. Other than Caesar himself, Octavius was...rather odd. 

"It's kind of hard to miss the fact that I look like no one else in this family." Octavius reached out and grabbed and orange. "And...it seems to be common for descendants of Venus to look how I do." 

"Sorry that I did not tell you before," Atia said. "I just...didn't know if it'd get to your head or not." 

"No. It wouldn't." Octavius began to peel the orange. "I'd actually rather be just...human." 

"Why?" Octavia the Younger asked him. "You might be super powerful and awesome!" 

Octavius smiled gently at her. "Thank you, Octavia. You're probably right." 

They resumed eating in silence, Octavius feeling a bit sick and only able to eat the orange before standing up to leave. As he did, Octavia stood as well and ran over to him, grabbing his hand. 

"You told me that you'd take me to the garden," she reminded him. 

"Of course." 

They left the feast area, walking to the garden that was on the clear other side of the palace, and Octavia tugged on Octavius's sleeve. "Why do you look so sad?" 

"Oh, no, I'm not sad," he assured her. "I'm just...thinking." 

Octavia scrunched her nose. "You're always thinking. You need to not think sometimes." 

"Whatever does that mean?" Octavius chuckled. 

"You think too hard," Octavia explained. "You think so hard that you fall asleep in the middle of the day because you didn't sleep at night. That's why you're always tired when you run with the other boys. And you make yourself sad by thinking about things that are pretend. That's why I think you shouldn't think sometimes." 

"Don't worry about me." Octavius knelt in front of her, putting his hands on her shoulders. "You're too young to be worrying about things." 

"I'm seven," she replied. "I know lots." 

"Of course you do." Octavius ruffled her hair. "But...worry about yourself, okay? I'll worry about myself." 

"You don't worry about yourself ever," she huffed. "Well, not in the right way." 

"Save your odd omens for later, okay?" Octavius stood up. "You wanted to see the garden, right?" 

Octavia had not yet seen the garden for various reasons. Most of them were because of her poor health in early life. Atia worried that the plants and dirt would worsen them, but Octavia was stubborn. She wanted to see the garden, and so she was going to see it. When they walked into the garden, Octavia's mouth dropped opened. 

"Wow, it's so pretty!" she exclaimed, running over to a rosebush. "These are roses! I saw them in the book Mother gave me!" 

"Do you want a flower crown?" Octavius asked. 

Octavia nodded vigorously, then smirked. "Only if you know how to make it properly!" 

"You're impossible." Octavius poked her cheek. "Yes, I know how to make a flower crown." 

He did not.

"Here, give it to me," Octavia giggled, clumsily tying a few knots until she had something that at least stayed together, placing it on Octavius's head. "There you go!" 

"Hey, that was supposed to be yours!" Octavius protested, taking it from his head and putting it on Octavia. "There. Now you're beautiful." 

"You need one too!" Octavia began to pick more flowers. "Here." 

She worked on tying together the flowers and put it on Octavius's head. "There! All the flowers are red! Your favorite color!" 

"It is lovely." Octavius grinned as Octavia yawned. "Okay, you need to get to sleep." 

Halfway to her room, Octavius had to scoop up Octavia into his arms and carry her the rest of the way. She was one of those kids that played hard all day and then passed out as soon as the sun set. Octavius joked that she was a little sun ray and that's why she had to fall asleep whenever the sun was gone. But it was rather bothersome when Octavius had to carry his sister who was nearly to his shoulders. Another reason why Octavius hated his height: his own sister was going to be taller than him. 

Carefully removing the flower crown, Octavius placed Octavia in her bed and covered her with a blanket, blowing out the candle on her dresser. Then, he retired to his own room, removing his toga and using the basin in the corner of his room to scrub off dirt from his trip to the forest and the garden. He took the flower crown that Octavia made off of his head and put the flowers into a vase of water and then ran a hand through his hair to make sure there were no leaves or twigs in it. 

Most of the time, servants would be there to make sure he was properly washed, his toga folded nicely, and his bed ready for him to sleep in. But, recently, Octavius had grown uncomfortable with them around and had asked them to just let him do things by himself but to be on standby in case he did need help with something. He didn't like people doing almost everything for him, especially when it came to his body. Perhaps it was a suddenly phase of modesty, but Octavius was sure that it was because he hated how he looked and didn't want that to be another thing that he was judged for. 

Octavius laid in his bed, pulling his silk sheets around him tightly, back turned to the moonlight that came through his window. He honestly wasn't sure what to think about the news of Venus being his father. So many things didn't make sense, and this revelation only added to the list of things that Octavius didn't know how to interpret. He acted as though he had just moved on with his life, but the opposite was the truth. Octavius had many questions running through his mind at all times, but he always had one big question at the front of his mind that no one ever seemed to know how to answer. 

Why?


End file.
